Winn endowment reaches $30K

The Journey Toward Excellence endowment has reached nearly one-third of its goal of $100K to honor the Reverend Doctors John and Carole Cotton Winn. Rev. Dr. Craig Gilliam of The Center for Pastoral Excellence is asking for more expressions of appreciation and gratitude in the way of gifts, to reach the goal.

Journey Toward Excellence is an endowment supporting The Academy for Spiritual Leadership and The Center for Pastoral Excellence. The endowment is dedicated to John Winn, who created The Center in 1990, and Carole Cotton Winn, who created The Academy in 1998. Its purpose is to encourage missional excellence, spiritual deepening, and leadership in the United Methodist Churches of the Louisiana Conference and to honor the Winns for their faithful, creative and influential lives and ministry.

The endowment fund relies on gifts from individual donors and church groups for support. The income earned on the account—not the principal— supports the planning and coordination of special events, visiting leaders and other activities to help lay and pastoral leaders discover the fullest life possible for themselves and their churches. It also helps sustain The Center and The Academy from the financial fluctuations that arise when needs seem to outpace resources. The United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana receives deposits and acts as the endowment’s trustee, at no cost to the ministry.

The Journey Toward Excellence Endowment Fund accepts one-time gifts, pledges over a three-year period and matching gifts from employers. For more information on how to give, contact Craig Gilliam at (504) 250-4046 or wcraiggilliam@hotmail.com or Rob Fairly at (225) 346-1535 or robf@umf.org.

To donate, please make check payable to Journey Toward Excellence Endowment Fund and mail to United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana, 8337 Jefferson Hwy., Baton Rouge, LA 70809.